I, Marina
by SapphireOceans
Summary: Don't pity me. I don't want pity. I just want you to remember that I am not a pawn in a game of chess to be disposed of at will. I am myself. I will not give up. Because I survive or I die fighting. My name is Marina. I'm 12 years old. This is my story.
1. PROLOGUE

**The prologue o****f my new story, I hope you enjoy it! Please review, I love to get peoples input!**

******(Okay, I'm going through my story and making some changes, because Persephones Flower bought to my attention that Marina's turning into a Mary-Sue. So I'd like to thank her for taking the time to PM me with suggestions to help me improve, and I'd like to thank her for her honesty.)**

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**Prologue**

It's strange, the way things change. I used to be a sweet, bubbly girl who lived with her brother. Now I'm a killer. Another thing that's strange is the thoughts that come into your head at the most inappropriate times. Like now for instance. I can remember everything. My whole life is passing before my eyes, scene by scene. Every moment. All the happiness, the hurt, the tears, the laughter. All the games I played with my brother when we were younger, the songs he sang me when I cried, the way he kissed my grazed knees better. The best brother anyone could ever want. And the worst mother. But I try not to think about her, not anymore. Not since the reaping. Thoughts of her only bring me down. And I need happy thoughts. I need to think about my brother. I need to think about my happy memories. And as I kneel on the floor of the arena, soaked in blood, I need to think of winning; because that's the only way I can get back to him.

It's funny how things change. But that is what the Hunger Games do. Change you. Because if you don't change, you die.

My name is Marina Trewren. I am twelve years old. This is my story.


	2. PART I

**PART I**

**THE TRIBUTES**


	3. 1

**This story is set before 'The Hunger Games', in the 69****th**** Hunger Games. I hope you enjoy it! Please review and tell me what you think!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Narcissa-Weasly, for being the first to review this story. :D**

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**1**

"Please can I come too?"

I must have said those words a thousand times. Every morning I've said them to my brother for as long as I can remember. Today is no different.

"Come on Konar! I'm twelve now! I'm mature enough! You know I'm a good swimmer!"

He laughs, and tries to peel my arms from around his neck.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?"

"Sorry Rina." I scowl at him, and stamp my foot.

"Don't you 'Rina' me!" Konar's the only one who I'll let call me Rina- and then only when I'm in a good mood. It's his nickname for me. Everyone else just calls me Marina.

"Ohhh...come on!"

He sighs. "Look, I've told you a hundred times; it's too dangerous, O.K? What if something happened to you? You're so little; one wave would knock you overboard."

Great. Now he's using my height as an excuse.

"I'm not _that_ short!"

"Rina, you're less than four foot. That's pretty short."

I glare at him. "I'm a better swimmer than you, and you're seventeen. Anyway, you've been fishing on the boat since you were ten!"

"Yes, but I was taller and about five times wider than you, even before you were ten. It's too dangerous, Rina. I just want to keep you safe. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. You're all I've got. Well..." here he tails off. "Well, you know. Apart from mother. But, you're still my little baby sister."

"What? I'm not a baby! I can look after myself!"

He snorts.

"It's true!" I shriek, my temper flaring, "You know I can! You know I killed that wolf last year!"

Konar grimaces. "Don't remind me! I nearly had a heart attack!"

"Well, it wasn't like I set out to attack it! It was self defence! It attacked me, of course I stabbed it!"

"Whatever. I'm going now, or I'm going to be late."

"But-"

"No buts." He grins at me and gives me a hug, ruffling my hair.

"Gerrof!"

He chuckles, and begins to walk out the door.

"You can't wrap me in cotton wool forever, you know!" I exclaim.

"I can do my best!" he says, swinging the door shut behind him.

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**I hope you enjoyed chapter one, please review!**


	4. 2

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, I have a Hunger Games Role Play, which needs more people- we have room for 22 more tribunals guys! The links below or you can get to it from my profile :D!**

**.net/forum/The_Hunger_Role_Play_Games/75599/**

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**2**

The cool breeze from the sea caresses my skin, and the salty tang I love fills the air. The sun is high in the sky, which is a dazzling blue, without a cloud in sight. It's a beautiful bright day, the kind of day you would lay out on the grass to bask in the sun. But it is also the day of the reaping. It seems years ago that Konar and I were arguing in the kitchen, when in fact, it was only two weeks ago. Today, there is no more joking, no more laughter. As we enter the town square, I have never felt less like laughing in my life.

"You'll be fine." Konar says, taking hold of my hand and squeezing it. I don't pull away. "Don't worry, you're only entered once. There's almost no chance at all that they'll pick your name."

"But they might pick yours."

Konar grimaces as he signs us both in. His name has been entered over 40 times to try and get us enough tesserae.

"If they do, you can stay with the Giffits next door. But only until I come back."

I stop walking suddenly.

"What if you don't-"

"I will." He says, crouching down to my level and looking me in the eyes. I believe him. I have to.

He gives me a swift hug before we separate to go to our separate pens. I'm one of the youngest, so I'm right at the back, unable to see anything that's going on, even when I stand on tip-toe. I feel claustrophobia setting in; I'm hemmed in by people on three sides and a rope cord on the forth, which is cutting into my shoulders. My chest feels constricted, my heart is pounding and I'm gasping for breath. It's not just because of the crowd- its fear. Not for myself. But for Konar. I remember feeling the same fear every year since he turned twelve. I'd wait in the square, standing with my friends, not fully understanding, but still scared that he wouldn't come home that night. Mother was useless. She still is. I can just catch a glimpse of her, staggering into the square, bottle in hand, swaying on her feet and giggling to herself. How I despise her. For a moment, anger and loathing almost overcome my fear. Almost. Suddenly, the babbling cacophony of voices die away. I perch, once again, on tip-toe, trying in vain to see anything.

"Citizens of District 4." A voice rings out over the silence. I catch a glimpse of a plump woman with a mass of glossy curls pilled high on her head. "Many years ago, what we now call Panem was a county called North America..."

I tune out as she launches into the story of how Panem came to be, how it was divided into the 13 districts and the Capitol, how rebels revolted against the Capitol and were defeated, district 13 destroyed as a warning and how, 79 year ago, the Hunger Games began. We all know the story. I alone have heard it eleven times before this one.

"And now," the woman says dramatically, her blonde curls quivering with excitement, "Let the contestants of 69th Hunger Games be chosen. Let the Reaping begin! May the odds ever be in your favour!"

Craning my neck, I see her reach into a glass bowl and pull out a scrap of paper.

"The male contender is..."my heart freezes. _Not Konar, not Konar..._

"Jaims Fishbourne!" a sigh of relief gusts from between my lips. Konar is safe. After next year, the reaping will not apply to him at all.

"And now for the ladies..." The woman says, smiling a sticky smile as she plunges her hand into the second glass bowl. I feel a twinge of anxiety hoping that it's not me...

"Bertha Julius!"

Relief fills me. My thoughts start to wander; how long until this is over? What's for dinner? Fish probably...

"Citizens of District 4." The woman is speaking again, a grief stricken man at her side.

"I have just been informed by Mr. Julius that Bertha died this morning, due to influenza. Another contestant shall be drawn in her place."

My nerves start to get the better of me again. I bite my lip nervously, drawing blood.

"The new female competitor is..." she pulls a new slip of paper out, "Marina Trewren."

My heart stops.

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**Please review!**


	5. 3

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! Yet again, I will appeal for people to join my role play: we still have 22 open spaces for tributes!**

**This chapter is dedicated to OliviaXD for her review. :D**

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**3**

"NO!" Konar's horrified yell breaks the silence like a whip. "No! You can't!"

His voice jolts me into motion, from where I stand, frozen with shock. I begin to walk, slowly up toward the platform, as if in a trance, or a dream which I can awake from...

"I volunteer!" Konar shouts. "I volunteer to take her place!"

The woman on the platform shakes her head, curls trembling. "Sorry." She says, "Only another girl can take her place.

I reach the platform, legs shaking.

"She's only twelve!" he cries "She's just a child!" He begins to push his way towards the platform.

"Sorry, but the Hunger Games have rules..." The woman looks at Konar nervously.

"Erm, would you just like to go back down and join-"

Konar climbs onto the stage and grabs hold of my hand, pulling me behind him so that he stands between me and the woman.

"She's no competing. That's final."

I know is futile to fight the Capitol, but hope springs up inside me. Maybe...

And that's when two peacekeepers seize him and rip him away from me.

"RINA! RINA!" he yells as they drag him away from me.

I can't even bear to speak. The words seem to be caught in my thought. I can only look after him with eyes full of tears, which only sheer willpower prevent from trickling down my face.

-x-

We sit in the room, as close together as possible. Konar's arm is so tight around me that I fear it'll cut off my blood supply. Finally, Konar speaks.

"Let me look at you."

I slide down from the chair and move so that I'm standing in front of him. He looks at me, desperation in his eyes. I'm dressed especially for the Reaping, a white dress which ends just above my knees, with a square neck line and puff sleeves. My dark hair is tied back with a white hair band. I'm probably the cleanest I've ever been in my life.

"I want to always remember you like this. No matter what I see happen in those games."

I know what he means. Too many contestants have died gruesome deaths. I shudder, remembering the girl last year who was stung to death by Tracker Jackers. By the time they had finished, she was unrecognisable, covered in lumps the size of oranges which were oozing green pus.

"I'm not going to die." I whisper.

Konar hugs me, rocking me gently. "Of course you're not."

"I mean it." I say it loader this time. "I'm not going to die."

Konar looks down at me. He must see something in my eyes, because he looks suddenly reassured. But he looks sad as well.

"You've grown up." he says, looking down at my face. "I should've- should've...I should've prepared you more. Given you more training. I shouldn't have been so overprotective..."

I shake my head. "You thought you were doing the right thing. And I couldn't wish for a better big brother." I grin, cheekily. "Besides, I didn't stab that wolf on natural talent alone. I've been using knives since I was five."

Konar looks down at me in surprise. "What? How-?"

I give a chocked laugh. "Tiym Griffit has been teaching me. I'm quite good at throwing them too."

"Good." Konar says, "I want you to win. Kill if you have too. Do whatever you have to. Just come back to me. I won't be able to bear it if you don't."

He presses something into my hand. It's a package.

"Don't open it now. It's for your district token. I was saving it, as a present for you, to congratulate you on surviving your first Reaping." He gave an ironic laugh. "Talk about tempting fate."

I smile wryly, and tuck the package into the pocket of my dress. I jump as the doors slide open behind me; the people from the Capitol have come to take me to the train. Konar gives me one last desperate hug.

"Don't look away." I whisper in his ear. "If I'm dying and I know you're looking at me, even through a screen, it'll be like you're with me."

He squeezes me tight. "I'll always be with you. I want you to know that."

It's hard not to cry at this point. It's even harder to let go. But I have to. It makes me feel empty inside, like my heart has been ripped out. The one last glimpse of Konar's desperate face over my shoulder before I'm whisked from the room will be burned into my memory forever. He looks like a boy who's just lost everything he's ever cared about. And maybe he just has.

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**Please review!**


	6. 4

**Here is chapter 4! Please enjoy and review! **

**Dedicated to HunterofArtemis1136 for your review! I hope you are now the happiest person in the world!**

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**4**

I feel Jaims's eyes burning into the back of my head as I avidly watch the screen. He is a mountain of a boy, over six feet tall, and muscular with it. He's strong too. I've seen him lift an entire rowing boat by himself. And if that's not bad enough, all the other competitors seem to be just as foreboding. The competitors from District 1 both volunteer, rushing forward to be the first. They show a close-up of the girl and she is beautiful- but you can tell from just one glance that she's deadly. She has long silky strawberry blonde hair, and stunning green eyes which seem to burn through you. She moves as gracefully and as lithely as a cat, and it is obvious that she can move lightning fast. Her image seems branded into my mind, despite all of the other competitors. Another girl that stands out is the girl from District 2, who also volunteers. She is Asian in appearance, with shoulder length dead straight black hair and dark almond eyes. As for the boys, naturally the ones from 1 and 2 stand out- muscular, deadly, but surprisingly a boy from 9 stand out too, with his golden skin and dark eyes and hair, he looks like a prince, and his agile stature, although not as tall as some of the other boys, he looks much faster. The rest of the competitors seem to blur into one, with one exception. A girl from 7, with a freckled face and wild chestnut waves of hair, who smiles cheekily at the camera before leaving the stage; there is something about her that appeals to me, her general air of...friendliness. At these thoughts I mentally shake myself- you can't get attached to people in the games.

Also, of course, there is our reaping, with Konar running towards me, trying to stand between me and the Capitol, and then Konar being dragged off by the peacekeepers. I'm shocked at how composed I look. Although I know I was close to tears, any spectator might have said I looked almost... cold. Aloof. Heartless, watching my brother being dragged away. Almost. Because if you look closely, you can see the tears in my eyes.

-x-

Finally, I snap.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" I snarl at Jaims, who starts with surprise. "What are you doing, working out how best to kill me?"

Angry tears blur my vision, and I wipe them away furiously.

"No."

His sad tone of voice surprises me. So does the arm he puts around me. I'm so shocked I don't even try to pull away.

"What?" I ask, staring up at him

"I'm not working out how to kill you. I don't kill little girls. I was just thinking how much you remind me of my sister."

"You have a sister?"

He nods. "Her name is Laia. She's ten. And she's a bit taller than you." He smiles. "You're tiny."

I don't know what to say to this. "Oh."

"You have a brother." He says. I nod. "I saw him at the reaping. I would have done the same to protect my sister."

"Oh."

He laughs and looks down at me. "You're a lot quieter than you were a minute ago."

I smile cheekily up at him. "Oh."

He grins. "You're like a stuck record!" he removes him arm from around my shoulder, and as he does so, something in my pocket rustles. "What's that?" he asks, curious.

I reach into my pocket and pull the parcel that Konar gave me. "My brother gave it to me, for my district token."

I carefully unwrap it and pull out...a necklace. A piece of paper falls out as well. Jaims pick it up and hold it out to me, and I take it. The necklace is beautiful. It's a teardrop shaped pearl, hanging from a silver chain. I do it up around my neck, and it hangs there, brushing the area just under where my collar bones meet. I unfold the note and begin to read.

_Dearest Rina,_

_I know now that when you are reading this you must be on your way to the Capitol. I found this pearl inside an oyster when I was fishing for them, and thought of you. Tom Jacobs from the blacksmiths made the chain as a favour, for the time I gave his family extra fish when they were starving. He always said he'd pay me back someday! I just want you to know, that I'll always love you, no matter what you have to do in those games. I just want you to try your best, and maybe someday you'll get back to me._

_All my love, little sister,_

_Konar_

I bite my lip, trying hard not to cry. _No more tears_, I vow. _No more tears_. I've done enough crying.

-x-

Soon we meet our mentors. Mine is a woman with tight shoulder length fire coloured curls, and sea green eyes. She nods to me. "Okay, let's talk strategies." She takes my arm and pulls me into a different room from James and his mentor. "What are your strengths?"

"Erm...I'm good with knives...I'd like to try archery...erm...I can find and kill food, especially fish..."

"when you say you're good with knives, how good are you?"

"I can throw them; I know how to kill with them."

She looks at me appraisingly. "Have you ever killed before, Miss Trewren?"

"Marina. I'm just Marina"

"Marina, then."

"I've killed animals. For food. I can throw a knife and catch a rabbit. There were some woods behind my home in District 4." I don't tell her we weren't allowed to hunt there, you never know who's listening. "One winter a wolf came out of those woods when I was breaking the ice on the water trough. It leapt at me, and I stabbed it." _There are plenty of human wolves in these games too_, I think to myself.

She looks pleased. "Good. We'll work on improving your skills. For the moment," she says, taking in my small stature, "I think the best angle you can play it is sweet. Don't get a good score in front of the game makers, we want people go under estimate you. Try and make them forget about you during the Games. Hide, keep safe and only strike at the end, once they've killed each other off."

She smiles. "That's good enough for today. We'll try and work on some more of your skills once we arrive in the Capitol." She turns to leave, but as she reaches the door, she turns back. "One more thing," she says, her eyes deadly serious. "Whatever you do, don't get caught up in the bloodbath in the Cornucopia. Grab the nearest rucksack and get the hell out of there. Hopefully you won't be seen as much of a threat, and no one will try and take you out."

With these encouraging words, she turns and leaves the room, just as the train begins to slow down. We have reached the Capitol.

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**Yay! My longest chapter ever! 1335 words! Yay! Please review! It makes me smile!**


	7. 5

**In wrote this chapter before Chapter 4, because I was inspired! Yay! There is a distinct possibility that this could be the longest chapter I've ever written, as it when I wrote it by hand it took up 5 A4 sides. (Oh. I just wrote Chapter 4, and it's longer than this one. Never mind :D)**

**This chapter's dedicated to Persephone's Flower, for pointing out how Marina's character was straying into dangerous Mary-Sue territory. **

**You guys may have noticed that this chapter has been edited, and stuff like Marina's name has changed. Well, that's all down to the advice Persephone gave me. I hope you think it's improved by the changes!**

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**5**

I let out a whimper of pain as the woman with the bubblegum pink hair rips off another strip of fabric from my leg.

"Hey sweetie, don't worry!" she says in her squeaky voice, "we're almost done now- and you're nowhere near as hairy as some tribunals I've seen!"

_Oh, well, thanks for that._

She pulls off another strip, and despite myself, I let out a little squeak.

"It's alright sweetheart, just one-"

_R-iii-iii-iii-iii-iii-iii-pppp_

"-more. There you are!"

She steps back, admiring her handiwork.

"At least we didn't have to do you're under arms! The underarms are hell!" She gives me a conspiratorial wink. I smile back weakly.

"Get a bit of meat on you and you'll be fine! You're such a little scrap of a thing! You only look around seven or eight!"

Even though they're preparing me for slaughter, it's hard to hate these people. They just seem so stupid! The prep team begin to circle me, wielding tweezers and other various hair removing objects.

"You know sweetie," says another woman, who I think is called Lorena; "You actually aren't half bad looking. Much better than that girl from last year. She was such a plain thing."

I feel a surge of rage. That 'plain girl' was called Kit Bloomsworth, and her head was smashed in by a spiked mace within the first minute of last year's games. That was part of the reason there were no volunteers this year. Seeing a sweet, funny girl getting her brains smashed out and spread over the sand tends to put people off. I'm snapped back to the present by a tugging on my hair.

"Yes..." Lorena is saying, "What wouldn't I give for that hair..." she fingers her own purple locks discontentedly. "It's quite nice, actually...not a patch on Capitol hair, but it has potential..."

"When you're finished Lorena," the woman with the pink hair interrupts tartly, "maybe you'd like to start greasing her down?" she rolls her eyes at me and mouths _Sorry about her!_

"Alright Katerina," Lorena says, pouting, "I was just looking."

Katerina ignores her.

"Alright Marina, Vi will be in in a moment."

"Vi?" I ask nervously.

"Your stylist. Normally we have Gillian, but she's...er...a bit poorly right now, so her daughter, Violet agreed to step in."

"A bit poorly my foot!" Lorena says nastily, "Off her face you mean!" she sees me staring. "Drugs. Rehab."

"Oh." It seems like me and this Violet might have a bit more in common than I first thought. Except the only place my mum's looking to fix her problems is the bottom of another bottle.

"Okay sweetheart, we're going now." Katerina says, patting my cheek. "You'll look as sweet as a little pie by the time Vi's finished!"

She and Lorena turn and walk towards the doors. Just before the doors shut behind them, I hear Katerina say "What a dear little thing! Such a shame...". The doors slam shut. To them, I'm a pet to be put down. That's all I am to the Capitol. They already assume I'm going to die. But I'll show them.

The doors open again and a young woman comes through She's tall and is wearing a bright purple blouse with a black pencil skirt, black tights and high heeled black shoes, the spiky heels of which make tapping sounds on the floor as she walks towards me. She cannot be more than twenty six, her pale face is free of wrinkles and mostly free of make-up, which is unusual for someone from the Capitol, although she does have a thin black line of eyeliner around her dazzling purple eyes, and her lips are a deep pink. Her short silky black hair falls naturally on either side of her face, pulled back slightly at her forehead, revealing a widows peak.

"Hello Marina," she says in a surprisingly low, husky voice, "I'm Violet, your stylist.

"Hello." I say quietly.

"Okay, just give me a second." She walks around me, looking me up and down. Seeing as I'm stark naked, I naturally blush scarlet. Catching sight of my face, she grins.

"No need for that honey, it's just us girls here." She finishes looking and passes me a robe, before leading me to a small lounge, with plush purple velvet sofas, and an amazing full length window overlooking the city. I sit down gingerly on a sofa, and I'm immediately swamped. Violet presses a button, and the table between the sofas split in half and our food rises up. We're eating something called 'pasta' drenched in tomato and basil sauce, with chocolate gateau for dessert Violet explains. I've eaten half of my pasta before she speaks again.

"So, Marina. For your look. I've been talking to your mentor, and she tell's me you're going to play it cute."

I hastily swallow my mouthful of pasta to answer. "Yes. That's right."

"Okay. Well, she know her stuff. That's probably the best angle to go for."

Vi sighs, and gives me a searching look.

"Marina, I'm going to be honest with you. You're not any thing special, you're not going to stand out from the other contestants."

I nod. "I realise that." How could I, with that beautiful girl from District 1?

"I'm not saying you don't have potential. You've got beautiful eyes. The freckles need a bit of work though..." she frowns at that. "Yes, we'll need to get rid of them. But at least you're not covered in oozing pustules, or you don't have dandruff flaking off left right and centre..." she shudders delicately.

"Thanks for that." I say dryly.

"You're welcome." she says, giving me a sweet studies me. "Marina, the reason I'm telling you this is because it's the truth. I'm not saying you can't change. Our team is pretty good. By the time we've finished with you, you'll look unforgettable. Ethereal. We are going to make you look like a goddess. Any questions?"

I sigh and shake my head, before taking another mouthful of pasta. I wish they'd hurry up and shove me into the arena. At least then I won't have to be waxed anymore...

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll get writing the next one soon!**


	8. 6

**This chapter's dedicated to HighOnCherryCoke, for your review, and for joining my HG roleplay! (Join people! We have 18 spaces left!)**

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**6**

"You can look."

I open my eyes and gasp. A beautiful creature from a fairytale stares back at me. The other girl has slim white limbs, sprinkled with silver dust which makes them shine, massive blue eyes with a dark smoky outline, pale pink rosebud lips, long, shining, dark brown , gently curling hair topped with a delicate silver diadem set with sparkling sapphires and pearls, and the dress...oh the dress...

"Do you like it?" Violet says, looking at me nervously.

"Oh...Violet!"

The dress is rippling blue silk, the exact same colour as the ocean. The bodice is tight fitting and embroidered with rippling silver thread. The skirt is flowing silk which falls loosely to her feet and into a train almost two meters long. Attached to her wrists and the small of her back is a silver gossamer sheet of silk, which is semi-transparent and which ripples in the light. Around her neck is the pearl on the silver chain which Konar gave me. Me. The girl in the mirror is me.

I can hardly believe it. I search the girls face, trying to see my own in there. Nothing. The plain, freckled girl from District 4 is completely hidden under a layer of make-up. I feel oddly lost without her. A sudden surge of rage rips through me. This is what the Capitol does. They take people and transform them into fake beings, with their real personalities and feelings submerged. I try not to let my anger show.

"You look beautiful." Violet says proudly, helping me into the shoes, which are silver and strappy, but, thankfully, do not have a high heel, only a small wedge. She doesn't seem to have noticed my mood.

"Now get out there and make District 4 proud!" Vi says, leading me towards the lift.

-x-

I clamber into the chariot next to Jaims. He is wearing a tunic similar to my dress, with silver leggings on underneath. I catch sight of some of the other contestants' outfits. District 1 look amazing in their glowing outfits which low and ripple through different shades of molten gold, but my heart soars as I realise that we stand out as well. And so does everyone else by the way their glaring at us. I catch sight of District 12 and grimace sympathetically; they are completely naked and covered in coals dust. The girl looks like she's been crying. Well, I'd cry if I had to wear that! That's the point when I realise I have a problem. My shoulders barely reach the rim of the chariot. How are people going to see my outfit if they can't see me? Violet seems to have realised the same thing. She trots over with a box. "Here, stand on this!" she says. I do as she says, and now I actually reach Jaims shoulder. "That'll have to do." She says, looking worried. But she kisses me on the cheek and squeezes my hand. "Go knock 'em dead sweetheart!" she says, and a wicked glint comes into her eyes. "Literarily." She whispers.

The chariot begins to move, and I wobble and almost fall, but Jaims catches my arm and steadies me.

"Careful."

"Thank you." I say gratefully.

He lets go, but I instantly lose my balance again. He catches my hand and holds on.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

I smile at him. He's so like Konar, I almost feel safe for a moment. But then the ever present tingle of fear returns, as all ways. A sudden roar of sound hits my ears, and I realise that we must be out. I look around at the crowds, all yelling at the sight of us.

"District 4! District 4!"

I see us up on the screen, and hardly recognise myself. My hair glitters, and I realise that Vi must have sprinkled the silver dust over that as well. I can faintly hear the commentators' voice over the crowd.

"And here are the competitors from District 4, Jaims Fishburne and Marina Trewren. Aw, isn't she sweet folks? And- oh wait, she seems to be standing on a box. Aw! Bless her! And look, her fellow tributes helping her! Aw, bless him"

I smile innocently at the crowd, not letting my annoyance show on my face. Flowers rain down on us, lilies, white and waxy. I catch one and wave in the direction it came from. The crowd cheers and waves back. The rest of it passes like a dream, a dream full of waving and falling flowers. And then it draws to a close; we are approaching the training centre. Just before we enter, I turn and blow one sweet kiss to the crowd, who roar with pleasure.

The minute it's over, I sag against Jaims, and manages to unclamp my hand from his,

"Sorry if I cut off your blood supply." I say, crumpling in a heap of blue silk onto my box. He snorts and wiggles his fingers.

"Don't worry; it'll take more than a scared 12 year old girl to get my fingers to fall off."

I scowl at that. "I'm stronger than I look!"

"Let's hope so."

I frown at him.

"Come on Marina, let's find our rooms." He takes my hand and pulls me up, his hands are twice as big as mine, and my hand disappears entirely in is closed fist. He begins to tow my tired body towards the lift and, hopefully, a bed.

-x-

I look around the rooms, feeling eyes on the back of m y head. I settle on the climbing wall and began to walk towards it, pretending not to hear the girls' conversation.

"She's District 4, which _technically_ makes her a careerer."

"Em, she's tiny! She'll be dead in seconds!"

"Yes, but that strong boy seems attached to her. If we take her in..."

"Then she will just be a liability!"

"But we can use her against him if she doesn't co-operate."

"But she'll just get in the way."

"Grace, open up your mind more!"

"You saw the pathetic attempt 4 made last year..."

I grab a harness, buckle myself into it and begin to climb. I get about a third of the way up before I slip and fall. I hear snorts from the direction of the two girls. I look around in time to see the one called Grace stab a dummy through the heart with what looks like a spear. I gulp and try again, pulling myself up with my arms and using my legs to push. I get further this time, before I fall. I feel the rush of freefall before the harness jerks me up sharply, cutting into me before lowering me gently to the ground. For the third time I begin to climb, and this time I manage to reach the top. _Yes! _I let myself fall backwards off of the wall, again enjoying the thrill of the drop before the harness catches me. I keep working at the wall, until I can get up there as fast of lightning. I finally unbuckle the harness and stretch out my cramped and tired muscles, before looking around to chose my next station.

-x-

By the time the bell signalling the end of the session rings, I've done camouflage, dangerous and edible plants and berries, shelter building and snares. I walk back to my room, only to find my mentor Selia waiting for me. "Come on, we're going to practise your actual skills."

I groan and follow her into the sitting room where she's got a dummy and a target, a long with an assortment of knives and a bow and arrow. "Go on then."

A grab a curved knife and throw it at the dummy. It hits it in the chest.

"Impressive. Don't let me stop you."

She sits down on the sofa and casually crosses her legs. I sigh and grab another knife. I keep throwing them at the dummy and then the target until they're all gone. Selia raises her eyebrows and walks across to pull out some of the knives, most of which are buried in the target up to the hilt. "We're going to have to cut some of them out." she mutters, tugging on one. She grabs another target. "Try the archery now."

I do as she says. My arrow misses the target completely and thuds into the wall. Selia winces and gets up. "Right." She adjusts my posture. "Let's see if we can get you hitting something. After that, we'll try your knives on moving objects."

This is going to be a very long evening.

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**Yay! This is the longest one yet! Wooo! 1,621 words! I've designed my arena now, and I've decided which order people will be killed off in, but I'm going back to school tomorrow, so I won't be able to update as often as I'd like. :( **


	9. INTERLUDE I

**Hello my darlings! Could it be? Could it really be? That's right! The lazy Sapphy has gotten off of her arse and updated! Sorry, I've had writers block. Wrote half of chapter 7, and then got stuck. So I written random sections from the games themselves, and am giving you this lovely interlude (with dancing girls- joking. :D) to tide you over until I finish chappie 7. And be warned, am doing GCSE's this year and computer time has been limited, so will not update regularly. Sorry!**

**Deicated to Darling Summers for her review and her music and generally just being amazing, lovely and very awesome!**

**(I intend to give everyone who reviews or is lovely a dedication; if you haven't got one yet, you will, don't worry!)**

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**INTERLUDE I**

He was so close to the screen that his nose was almost pressed against it. The District 4 re-caps flashed up on the screen and he watched, again as she was paraded around for the Capitol; the animals who were baying for her blood. He reached out and touched the screen, static tingling on his fingers as the image froze for a moment, paused in that sweet face he knew so well. The face he had watched grow and the face he had loved for the last 12 years.

"Rina." He murmered, withdrawing the hand as the image changed to show the boy, her fellow tribute. A tall boy, around the same size as Konar himself, from one of the richer families; well trained, lethal and a definite careerer. A mixture of anger and fear burst through him. Anger for the boy, that threat to his sister. And fear for Marina herself. The television screen went blank and he walked back across the room, sinking into a wooden chair. He closed his eyes, but could still only see images of her.

The new born child, lying in his arms while his aunt took care of his screaming mother. Her brown curls were still damp and clinging to her head, her huge blue eyes solemn and staring, meeting his. He had felt so protective of her then, the baby who was much too small, whose tiny hand clung to his finger desperately.

Then when she was older, him teaching her to swim, to climb cliffs to mend nets, her small three-year-old hands stumbling over the harder knots. Him rocking her until she slept in his arms, her skinny body curled up against his chest like a cat.

Forwards a few years, when his aunt was dead and he'd been left in charge of the family, aged 10. She had been so young still, he couldn't bear to leave her alone with his mother, who barely noticed anything anymore, so infused was she with drink. He had left her each morning with the Griffits next door while he had gone out on the boat. Every evening when he had returned, she'd run to him and fling herself into his arms, and he'd whirl her around, both of them laughing. Then back home, where he'd managed to heave him mother to her feet and get her into bed, before taking Rina out on the beach and roasting fish together over a small fire. She fell asleep, propped against him, and he'd ended up carrying her to bed, and sliding in with her, watching her young face with the smattering of golden freckles over the nose, in the dusk, and singing lullabies to her whenever she woke with bad dreams. Songs about mermaids, sunken treasure, sea jewels and drowned sailors.

The day when he had found out about the time she and Billy had snuck off to the woods on the cliff top, through a patch off fence damaged by a storm, cutting off the electricity. That was the only time he had ever truly hit her; he had held her over his knee and walloped her hard, making her shriek and yell. He'd felt terrible afterwards, seeing her cry with shame and humiliation. But she'd need to learn. You don't play with the capitol. But watching her now on the screen, he wasn't so sure she'd learnt the lesson he intended her too.

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**Please review!**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**xxx**

**P.S. I just wanted to say, there have been some comments about my spelling. Although I am not the worlds most amazing speller, some words may appear to be spelt wrong because I'm actually English, and will spell some words differently to countries like the U.S. :)**


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